I was a bit nervous to start this book because I really was not a fan of Dream Girl Drama (Big Shots #3). I loved Fan Girl Down (Big Shots #1) and The Au Pair Affair (Big Shots #2). Those were 2 of my favorite books from Tessa Bailey. I’m incredibly pleased to say that Pitcher Perfect (Big Shots #4) has joined the first 2 books in the series as some of my favorite of Tessa’s.

As a former Division 1 lacrosse player, I grew up putting a lot of my self worth into my athleticism and performance. I also struggled with finding the balance between “being one of the guys” and accepting my femininity. I was able to really relate to Skylar in those aspects.

It was also refreshing to see the character development for Robbie, Skylar, and the entire Page family. Robbie went from being a surface level player that lets everything roll off his back and takes nothing seriously to being a deep, supportive, healing rock for the Pages. You see a lot on social media nowadays about how the right guy can help you love the color pink again. Without saying it, I could tell Robbie was that guy for Skylar. I love the way their relationship progressed and allowed them both to feel safe and seen.

I devoured this whole book in less than a day. I look forward to seeing more from this series.

2 🌟 Thank you avon for the ARC! Ughhh this disappointed me. I feel like TB saw that her fanbase liked smut, and decided that’s what she’d focus on. This whole book was literally either literal smut, talking about smut, or thinking about it lol.

First of all, this was sooo cringey! Did he actually refer to someone as “Sad Boi Mad”???? I literally died of cringe at that moment—like physically cringed. Also I’ll never forgive TB for having Robbie say “Bet” when in the middle of smut 😂😭 I’m done ahahaha.

It took me until 80% ish to actually get interested in the true story. I liked Robbie! He was sweet—but Skylar pissed me off at the third act breakup. If this story wasn’t so smut driven, it could’ve been good. But it was just over the top and so cringey. This is making me rethink my “auto buy author” status for her. Everything lately has been… yikes.

Pitcher Perfect was amazing! I have loved every book in the Big Shots series, but this is my new favorite. I loved the romance and grand gestures between Robbie and Skylar, and the banter between them was fabulous.
This book had the perfect mix of spice and depth. It was such a fun read!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for the ARC 📖

Read if you like: Softball x hockey romance, strangers to lovers, fake dating, opposites attract, banter, he falls first, golden retriever MMC

Dipping my toes into the sports romance genre and this one was equally cute and cheesy. While there were parts of this book I really enjoyed, specifically the summer family competition, there were also things I wasn’t crazy about. I’m not a fan of the insta-love trope or third act breakups, so those components were a little hard to look past. Even though I figured out where this book was headed pretty early on, I still had a good time getting to the destination and there were some laugh out loud moments sprinkled in this rom-com!

#PitcherPerfect #NetGalley thanks for the arc!

Where to begin, overall I really got sucked into Redbeard and Rocket's story :)
I love a strong FMC, and this one did not disappoint. I loved what felt like actual real-life banter between characters (the love interest, the brother and sister), it was fun to read and totally relatable.

My issues, it all felt so rushed.... I get it, I get it, instalust.... but sometimes it is just to much to fast... Steamy scenes were good however, word choice triggers for some - I did find myself glazing over some of the spice though - I get it, I get it, they were super hot for each other... The jump into love, a little fast but I mean it was cute.... Cute quick read, perfect for a beach day.

I loved these two! The goofy but intense family, too, which is very relatable. I devoured this book in one day. The ending fell a little flat and rushed for me but I'm really excited for the next book! I have a feeling of who it's about.

Skylar is a collegiate softball pitcher who bumps into Robbie, everyone's favorite rookie hockey player, at a pickup baseball game one Saturday in the park. Despite his playboy antics, Skylar is intrigued by Robbie and asks him to fake date her/be her partner in her families wilderness competition. These two had fun chemistry and their banter and laughter was cute.

My issue is truly the fact that I don't think either of these athletes would take time out of their schedule to participate in activities where they could be seriously injured. Like not even on the off-season but weeks before NHL playoffs I don't see a professional athlete running through the woods asking to twist an ankle.

If you've enjoyed the rest of this series this one won't disappoint.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In classic Tessa Bailey fashion, the story is full of tropes displayed via fun shenanigans, witty and believable banter, and characters you should hate but actually love.

Robbie, a player on and off the ice, agrees to fake date Skylar to help make her unrequited crush jealous. While normally I don’t like the ‘player to committed‘ character, I really enjoyed Robbie. He is a bundle of sunshine and Tessa Bailey was able to give him some depth and a good redemption arc.

The backdrop of their time together was competing in Skylar’s family’s yearly week long competition. It was psychotic, not at all believable, and yet so much fun I wanted more of their family competition.

This was tracking towards my favorite book in the series until the third act miscommunication. It was both predictable and disappointing. Skylar’s personal growth was supposed to be confidence in herself and yet it was ruined in the third act miscommunication and never really came back. That, along with the lack of development with secondary characters (e.g., not having the friendship with Mailer like in previous books, while Eve seems to be set up for the next book…the lack of depth with Skylar’s best friend felt like a miss)

Thank you to Tessa Bailey, Avon, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Is Pitcher Perfect Tessa Bailey's best book? This book is the fourth installment in the Big Shots series and one of the best. The story is centered around Robbie Corrigan, a hockey player for the Boston BearCats. Robbis is known for his playboy lifestyle, but that all changed when he meets Skylar. Skylar Pagie is a Division 1 softball player, full of confidence when it comes to pitching. When the two first meet, Robbie is in love and Skylar is anything but. Unimpressed by Robbies charm, Skylar still needs his help. Releasing they can both benefit from watching each other they soon decide to fake date. Robbie wants Skylar, and Skylar will do anything to fend off Robbie's charm. Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey is such a charmful, light hearted book for fans of sports romance and fake dating.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy <3

Pitcher Perfect is an enemies-to-lovers romance about an all-star softball pitcher who uses an NHL player to make her long-time crush jealous. But feelings start to emerge, and nothing ends up as planned.

I knew going into a Tessa Bailey book what I'd likely be getting ([insert rom-com trope here] + sport + sex), so I didn't necessarily have high expectations. Having read some of her other books, I expected to like this more than I did.

What I liked about this book:
-Fun banter
-Unique setting
-Sports are fun

What I didn't like about this book:
-It felt like it was written in the span of maybe 3 or 4 days
-Some of the dialogue was cheesy or cringey
-Despite being a big hockey fan, I tend not to like sports romances because they are so unrealistic it's laughable. The high-school-esque team names (the Bearcats would never be an NHL team name); going out in public and not being recognized by anyone? There are so many reasons these do not work for me.
-Our FMC Skylar was annoying as hell.
-This was a combo of so many romance tropes: Enemies-to-lovers; forced proximity; insta-love; fake dating; miscommunication. Too much all meshed together, and it just did not do it for me.

Overall, this gets a 2/5 stars.

Pitcher Perfect is a fake relationship troupe. It grab my attention quickly and I finished the book in one day! The plot was too the point and flowed easily. The fmc was cute and the mmc was straight to the point.

I've loved the entire Big Shot universe and Pitcher Perfect is my favorite! I typically don't enjoy fake dating but the way Bailey writes Skylar elevates the trope.

Fun and fast read. Who doesn't love an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating trope? If this is your jam, this book is for you. It's a fun ride that you won't regret.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I've read several Tessa Bailey books, and this one definitely brings the heat. A spicy rom com with the troupes of enemies to lovers, and fake dating thrown in, our main characters are charismatic and endearing. There's a lot that happens in the span of a week so it's a tad unbelievable, but the story will pull you along. If you enjoy spicy reads, this one is for you! Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!

Thank you for the ARC! Here’s my Goodreads review:
I was lucky enough to get my first ever ARC!
I love how astronomically down bad all of Tessa Bailey’s men are. “I ask myself one question…if there is anyone else in the world who’d work harder to make her happy.” Ughh I was kicking my feet and giggling.
I do wish we got to know/understand her friendship with Eve a little better and I did feel that the timeline of falling in love in less than a week was a little crazy, but what do I know 🤷🏻‍♀️

“The story you are about to see has been told before….a lot! And now we are going to tell it again, but different.”

I had MAJOR deja vu reading this book. It’s definitely been done before, but this one missed the mark for me. I definitely liked it better than The Au Pair Affair, because that one was absolutely terrible. This one just didn’t hit unfortunately.

Skyler is obsessed with her brother’s best friend, Madden, and enlists the help of Robbie to play her fake boyfriend to make Madden jealous and fall in love with her.

The plot was fine, and outcome predictable. I don’t know it was just something about Skyler and Robbie that I didn’t like. I also majorly disliked Skyler’s entire family, and being with them for most of the book didn’t help. I’ll probably end the series here. I foresee a book with Madden and Eve and I don’t think I’m into that.

Thank you Avon and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tags
-Fake Dating
-Sports Romance (Hockey x Baseball)
-Family Competition
-Spicy Lessons

ARC Review! 💙

This book is what I imagine would happen if Tessa's 'Fix Her Up' had a baby with Becka Mack's 'Consider Me' (2 of my favorite books of all time). Skylar has been in love with her brother's best friend for years. Hoping that when the time is right, he'll finally see her as more than a little sister. When Robbie and Skylar meet, he's the typical hockey playboy boasting about his depraved ways, gaining the wrong kind of attention from Skylar. To prove that he's not a lost cause, Robbie offers to help Skylar get the attention she craves from her long-time crush. Thus, the beginning of our enemies-to-lovers romance.

Robbie was down bad for his girl. A golden retriever at heart, he was obsessed from day one. He's extremely flirty, but also genuine and honest about his feelings. I loved how he understood her so easily and supported her like no one else in her life has. SIDE NOTE: HIS NICKNAME FOR HER!!! SO CUTE

Skylar is a fiercely strong and independent character, but she's reserved about her feelings. She continually pressures herself and feels like an insider within her own family. It was very easy to connect with these characters, which made reading the book 100x better.

"it was their way of remembering their very first meeting, which Robbie privately referred to as the day his life truly began."

...and this is a Tessa Bailey book, so of course it was spicy 🌶️



Thank you to Avon and Harper Collins for the ARC; it's greatly appreciated.

What a great surprise this book was. I did not love Dream Girl Drama and was hesitant to keep reading this series. But am so happy to have tried it. This was a good set up for fake dating. This romance between a pitcher and a hockey player provided a fun set up for competition and banter but also for growth on both sides. It was pretty light (but I needed that) but it gave good heart.

Thanks for a fun rainy day read.

- Fake Dating
-He Falls First
- Grumpy Girl x Sunshine Boy
-Undoing his Bad Boy ways

Ok, Tessa Bailey makes her book with magic. They cannot be put down.
Whenever I think she can't top the last book in this series, she does!!!
Our good girl, moderately traumatized FMC, is a breath of fresh air, and I love her complex character development.
Robbie is SO much fun, and his backstory through the prior books makes this character arc so fun. It was so much fun to be in one of the delightful duo's heads. I look forward to every single one of these books.
LOVE LOVE LOVE

if you're interested in this series, do start with the first book book but you can read out of order if you want, but you will get other couple spoilers!

Tessa Bailey once again brings the best contemporary romance of the year!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've read all three of the other Big Shots titles and was pleased to be offered an ARC for this one as well. We've got some fake dating and Bailey has pivoted to baseball with the last two titles being hockey and the first being golf (Fangirl Down is still my favorite of the four). This one was pretty good. Very fun, feel-good, and I liked that the FMC was an athlete as well instead of just the MMC like the three previous titles. I enjoyed this and I think you can really tell by the writing that Bailey enjoys writing these books too. They're fun with not too much serious edge and PLENTY of spice! We do love a golden retriever boyfriend who was a breath of fresh air from some of the recent grumps that have been written into this series, lol. Bailey fans will eat this up.